The roles of non-coding RNAs in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is considered as a high prevalence neurodegenerative disorders worldwide. Pathologically, the demise of dopamine-producing cells, in large part due to an abnormal accumulation of the α-synuclein in the substantia nigra, is one of the main causes of the disease. Up until now, many de novo investigations have been conducted to disclose the mechanisms underlying in PD. Among them, impacts of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) on the pathogenesis and/or progression of PD need to be highlighted. microRNAs (miRNAs) and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) are more noteworthy in this context. miRNAs are small ncRNAs (with 18–25 nucleotide in length) that control the expression of multiple genes at post-transcriptional level, while lncRNAs have longer size (over 200 nucleotides) and are involved in some key biological processes through various mechanisms. Involvement of miRNAs has been well documented in the development of PD, particularly gene expression. Hence, in this current review, we will discuss the impacts of miRNAs in regulation of the expression of PD-related genes and the role of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of PD.